What's in Colorado?
by Anti-Social-Turtle
Summary: chapter2a long kept secret is now reveled and carter must now make a life altering decision, but will he take abby into consideration, and how will the rest of his collogues react. please R&R!
1. The News

Disclaimer: I wanna have 'um, PLEASE!!!!!!!! Oh well!  
  
Summary: a long kept secret is now reveled and carter must now make a life altering decision, but will he take abby into consideration, and how will the rest of his collogues react.  
  
A/N: this is set currently, everything happened the same as it has up until 'a thousand cranes' (if that makes any sense!) and I "created" Liz and Zoë Timberland! When I thought of Zoë I pictured her being played by Lalaine from 'lizzie mcguire' I don't know why but if you know her try and think of the character in her attitude.kinda! Please R&R. thanks!  
  
It was extremely cold, as usual for winter in Chicago; carter was starting to stir from a silent slumber with abby in his arms. Looking at her now, like this, he remembered what had first made him care for her. But he couldn't tell her that yet. He was finally awoken by the distant ringing of a phone, he motioned off the bed careful not to wake abby.  
  
"Hello?" he spoke into the receiver.  
  
"Hello, is Mr. Timberland there, " the voice on the other end was solemn.  
  
"No, I think you have the wrong number ma'am," he told the woman on the other end of the line.  
  
"Well sir, do you know a Ms. Elizabeth Timberland?" the woman spoke softer.  
  
"Yes I do. did, but.." He was interrupted by the woman again.  
  
"There was an accident sir, and her daughter said you were the person to call," after a pause the woman continued, "she told us you were her husband."  
  
"Oh god.." Carter spoke almost to himself.   
  
Carter walked down the hall of the hospital with the thoughts of his past with Elizabeth, Liz, still in his head. And then he thought of Zoë, he had only met her a few times but she knew who he was, and HE knew what it meant if Liz didn't.. But just as he approached the admit desk a fresh new trauma rolled in. The paramedic proceeded to give carter, Susan, abby and Pratt the bullet as they brought a victim of a shoot out into trauma 2. He knew the guy was dead but with the brutal cold they should at least give him a chance, you know, "you're not dead till you're warm and dead".  
  
"Carter, call on line 2," Randi told him from the doorway.  
  
"I am a little busy now Randi," he yelled at her as he cracked open the 16year olds chest.  
  
"She says it's about your wife?" she said in her usually skeptical voice.  
  
Carter had a 'sudden' chocking fit to hide his surprise that they would call him at the hospital. At this abby and the rest of the trauma team jolted their heads up in pure silence, the only sound to be heard was the droned buzz of the flat line as carter pronounced the young man that lay before him.  
  
"ummm. tell them I'll be right there!" carter told Randi as he ungloved and threw his bloodied gown on the trauma room floor.  
  
" carter?" Susan said noticing the 'too-stunned-to-talk look on Abby's face.  
  
"just... give me a minute!?" he told them as he walked through the trauma doors and into the adjacent exam room.  
  
The sound of his voice was muffled but they could still seem to make out what he was saying.  
  
"How long ago?...did you tell her?..you want me to?...oh great!..." he continued but his voice was harder and harder to make out. He hung up the phone with a promise to call them back. He sat back on a gurney and began to rub the bridge of his nose. Getting up, he stuck his head through the door. At this time the others had tried to make themselves look busy with a death kit.  
  
"Abby?" carter requested while he gestured for her to join him in the other exam room. She moved toward him with a skeptical look from Susan, and one soon dawning her own face.  
  
"What's going on?" she asked him with some eagerness.  
  
" I have to tell you something." He said hesitantly.  
  
"Ummmm.. I.aaaam going to have to go to Colorado." He said not wanting to reveal the whole truth.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I have to sign off on some medical papers for a...a..an old friend of mine." He told her, knowing that she wasn't buying any of it.  
  
"Randi said some thing about...a wife!?" she was begging him to tell her what the hell was going on!  
  
At this point the rest of their friends were running out of things to do to keep themselves busy, while straining to hear the conversation. But it would soon be very much audible, as Abby began to show her anger.  
  
"YOU WHAT!?" she yelled as she pushed through the doors on the other side of the room and into the hallway, further away from the trauma room. And only Susan moved toward the door.  
  
"What's goin' on?" she asked them but they continued to argue.  
  
"I can't believe you would hide something like that from me!" she yelled and tried to walk away from his sorrowed gaze.  
  
" I didn't just hide it for you, Abby!" he pleaded.  
  
He soon saw the added interest in his patients and collogues' eyes and started to make his way toward the lounge. 


	2. An Explanation

Chapter 2 - an explanation.  
  
" I was 17!!!" he yelled at Abby knowing that wasn't going to make it any better.  
  
Being in the lounge at this point didn't matter everyone could hear the 'conversation' they were having and they were all gaining interest.  
  
"So when were you planning on telling me this!" Abby said trying to remain calm and obviously failing.  
  
"I didn't think I would have to!" he continued.  
  
"Oh, so you didn't think it was even worth bringing up!?" at this point she was fuming.  
  
"Hahahahah!" he just began to laugh!  
  
"What the hell are you laughing at!?" Abby didn't think she could be more pissed.  
  
"You're just cute when you're angry!" he explained.  
  
"Don't go changing the subject! Grrrrrrhhhh!" she said storming out of the lounge and starting to make her way to the ambulance bay.  
  
"Abby.. Come back!?!" he said following her.  
  
The rest of the staff gave them both a questioning look; Abby totally disregarded them and carter on her crusade to the ambulance bay. Carter on the other hand took a tripping back step in order to look at the rest of them. He put his hand up in frustration and ran out of the hospital after Abby.  
  
" Abby just stop for a sec" he said grabbing her arm pulling her closer AND out of the way of the ambulance coming in.  
  
"Carter I don't want to hear it now!" she pleaded.  
  
" Well I think you have to!" he said trying desperately to calm her down.  
  
"We could use some help over here!!!!" the paramedic yelled, interrupting the recently silent couple.  
  
They exchanged a last look before going back to work.  
  
"Yeah, what do we got?" carter asked watching Abby go threw the emergency doors to get gloved up!  
  
"18 year old restrained front seat passenger, complains of chest pain upon air bag deployment, B.P. is 100/80, pulse is tacky at 120." the paramedic continued as carter helped unload the patient from the rig.  
  
"Where's my dad?" the scared teenage asked looking into her doctors eyes as he brought her into the trauma room.  
  
Carter exchanged a dismal look with the paramedic. After ordering a few tests on the girl carter followed the paramedic outside of the trauma room to help him look for some more supplies to stock the rig.  
  
"D.O.A?" carter asked already knowing the answer.  
  
"Yeah" the paramedic answered grabbing some tubing from carters hand and running out to another call.  
  
The girl was admitted to medicine for observation and carter called social services in to tell her that her father was dead; carter just couldn't handle it today. He made his way back to the lounge - now that his shift was over - to find Abby nervously sipping her coffee. Just one more thing he loved about her.  
  
  
  
They had talked for nearly 2 hours. He told her every thing. Well he didn't tell her EVERY THING! But he was as forthcoming as he needed to be. He told her that Liz was his girlfriend throughout most of high school. She was a year older then him and was going to graduate a year ahead of him, and she was going to college out of state. Two weeks before graduation she told him she was pregnant, and that she planned on keeping it. Both of their parents were not on good terms after hearing the news but decided - with out even asking them what THEY wanted to do - that they should get married. They were married until he graduated high school and at that time she was experienced enough to get full custody in their divorce settlement. They had named their child Zoë. Because they did have such a vast relationship together Liz decided to name him as guardian of Zoë in her will several years ago, when they moved to Colorado.  
  
"I got a call early this morning," he told her continuing the explanation, "saying that they were in an accident." He stopped to take a breath and look up into Abby's eyes. It was obvious she knew what was coming.  
  
"she died in surgery." He finally let out after a long pause.  
  
"how's Zoe?" was all that she could force out of her mouth.  
  
"mostly orthopedic injuries but.I still have to go!" he told her not quite sure what else to say.  
  
"I am her legal guardian." he continued.  
  
"I know." She said curtly.  
  
" she's going to have to stay in Colorado until she recovers but I am gonna bring her here for physical therapy." He explained waiting for her reaction.  
  
"she's going to be staying with you?" she was more calm now.  
  
"yeah, I guess, I was just as surprised as you were!" he tried to reassure her.  
  
"I get that, but does she even know you!?" her slightly angry curiosity returning.  
  
"yeah I have seen her a few times and I send her birthday cards and stuff every year," he tried to tell her, "she's the one that told them to call me!"  
  
"I want you to come, abby!" he half asked her.  
  
"why?" she asked growing a little more concerned with THEIR relationship.  
  
"because I want her to know who you are, you're a big part of my life abby, I love you!" he let out final feeling the weight being lifted! 


End file.
